Luigi Fontana - The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life

Life is beautiful. Being born on this spectacular planet, and being able to travel, experience and enjoy the marvels around us and, most importantly, inside us, is a gift. The most important one!

However, too many people do not appreciate how crucial it is to maintain or regain health in order to fully enjoy this amazing and transformative voyage in the company of our beloved relatives and dear friends. Too often, people are so busy accumulating money and material goods that they cannot find time to take care of themselves, their family and the environment around them. They forget to live and most importantly to be. The Dalai Lama says in this regard:

Man sacrifices his health to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to treat the diseases. He is so anxious for the future that he does not enjoy the present, with the result that he does not live either in the present or in the future. He lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.

The truth is that to maximise our chances of living a long, happy, creative and meaningful life, we need to address both our physical and our mental health. We need to balance and care for both. If our body is not kept in good shape, it is unlikely that we will be able to deal with lifes challenges and sometimes perils. At the same time, a healthy and resilient body without an attentive, curious, intuitive and compassionate mind would be incapable of exploring and sharing the wonders of this planet and of enjoying the rich depths of our inner selves.

Are you doing everything you can to keep your body in good shape, or to regain your health?

Do you know and understand what is required to keep your body and mind strong and healthy?

Do you know how to empower your life and make the best of yourself?

These are crucial questions. The art of living a long, healthy, empowered and happy life is not simple and straightforward. There are no shortcuts. No magic pills or expensive procedures that can replace the beneficial effects of a healthy diet, exercise and mindfulness, or of a regenerating nights sleep. Moreover, we have to bear in mind that what we eat, think and do influence not only our wellbeing and degree of success in life, but also the health of the environment, which in a vicious circle impacts our risk of becoming sick and miserable. Everything is interconnected.

Beware of snake oil salesmen who swoop in and promise to make you healthy, smart and happy with something requiring little effort and producing a quick fix. If someone were to tell you that by taking a pill or a couple of lessons, you would become an accomplished concert violinist or a black-belt Aikido Sensei, would you believe him? Its easy to take someones word for it when youre not knowledgeable.

To guard against being taken advantage of, you need to understand the mechanisms of how things work and how you can measure the results. If you master these things, you will be in a better position to protect yourself. I hope that by reading this book, you may acquire some of this knowledge, but most importantly, you will start to examine your own rational and subconscious expectations for the future. You might discover that they are uncomfortably in conflict both in what you do and how you do it. I hope that by understanding this divergence you will unlock a profoundly felt need for transformation.

Typically, before we head out for a long road journey, we make sure that our car is up to the task. Nothing can ruin a trip faster than car trouble, especially if it could have been prevented. Keeping up with our regularly scheduled car maintenance, and understanding the cars basic requirements, can help keep our journey from becoming a nightmare, complete with costly repair bills, and the disruption of our long-awaited trip.

Would you feel safe driving a car that had not undergone its regular servicing and inspections, had not been supplied with the appropriate types of oil and fuel or had dangerously low tyre pressure? So then, shouldnt we show the same concern for our body, that we take on a journey lasting many decades, and for some, more than a century? Are you really doing everything you can to keep your body in good shape? Do you maintain it with the best energy sources, or to keep up the analogy, do you use the cheapest fuel, lowest grade transmission oil and not bother to check that everything is running smoothly?

Are you metabolically healthy and fit? For instance, what is your body weight and waist circumference? How much weight have you gained since you were 18 years old? Do you lead a sedentary life, smoke or drink? Do you have issues with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, insulin, testosterone, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and C-reactive protein levels, a marker of systemic inflammation? All these, as I will illustrate in this book, are some of the most important predictors of our risk of developing chronic illnesses. If they are not kept in order, they will spoil our journey, and most importantly will dramatically shorten it.

Unfortunately, due to unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyle, the present average values for many of these risk factors in both men and women are far from optimal. implying that other elements play a role, such as physical inactivity, abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, mental stress, and, as we will see later, the type of bacteria living in our gut. The same applies to the risk of developing cancer, dementia and many other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

ITS NEVER TOO LATE

Adopting a healthy lifestyle can drastically improve your health at any age, even if you are already suffering from one or more diseases. Of course, the sooner you start the better, but it is never too late to turn back the clock. The benefits of improving your diet quality and engaging in regular exercise and cognitive training (keeping your mind active and engaged) dont accrue only to people who have been doing this all along. You can make changes in your 50s, 60s and 70s that result in a healthier, longer life.

In some of our studies, we have seen dramatic and rapid health gains in middle-aged and elderly people affected by chronic illnesses, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and diabetic kidney disease. Also, a growing body of evidence strongly suggests that changing lifestyle can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence, improve cognitive function in persons with early dementia, and influence mental health in people affected by depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

Would you ever get in a car driven by someone who is insecure, confused, or, even worse, depressed? Similarly, if you were planning an extraordinary adventure, such as climbing Mount Everest, wouldnt you seek a guide or instructor who is not only knowledgeable about the risks, but also focused, resourceful and confident?

It has been shown that Sherpas, who climb Everest and the tallest mountains in the world, have developed some of these unique traits, including lower levels of guilt and anxiety coupled with superior levels of mental toughness, independence and emotional stability. In a personality study of Sherpa climbers, it was shown that these men not only are unbelievably skilled, but also possess key qualities such as leadership, trust, loyalty, calmness, spirituality, kindness and compassion.

Wouldnt it be fantastic to have these Sherpa traits? The good news is we can develop and enhance our own levels of mental energy, enthusiasm and positivity and be ready to embark on new experiences with enthusiasm too. It is within our power to develop these traits, so that we can empower our life and fully enjoy our journey.